nature of airport operations. They are the co-workers of those who commit theft, and of those who may present a terrorist threat. It behoves the police department to train airport workers on current crime trends, terrorist behaviours, and how to report them. Erroll Southers, a counterterrorism expert and professor at the University of Southern California often states that, “It is important to find the bomber, not the bomb. By the time you find the bomb, it is too late.” Encouraging airport workers to identify behavioural traits of possible criminals and terrorist/co-workers will not only raise awareness but will deter possible criminal and terrorist activities in the first place. At large airports, such as LAX, this raises the awareness to tens of thousands of employees. Providing awareness training to employees is very cost effective. There are many assignments and
different specialised jobs/details for police officers who work at an airport. Needless to say, there are many police officers who work at LAX. Similar to all police departments, the
patrol function is the backbone of the agency. It is the Patrol Officers who the public primarily deal with on a daily basis. These are the officers that you will encounter when property is lost or stolen, and even when people are lost. They take reports, effect arrests and present the positive and professional ‘face’ of the agency. There are many specialised units which focus on direct enforcement of certain areas or functions within the airport community. LAX, like most large commercial airports, can be a very crowded environment. The crowd challenge is both vehicular and pedestrian in nature. The more people, the more likely police services will be needed. That said, the busier the airport, the harder it is for patrol cars to get around. As a result, LAX maintains a Bicycle Unit, which provides fast movement within the terminals. The bike officers are also assigned to crime suppression through high visibility, and stealthy patrols of the airport parking structures which, in turn, reduces vehicle burglaries.
LAX maintains the largest airport Explosives Detection Canine Program in the United States. The dog handlers are federally trained and certified primarily for explosive detection. It is not uncommon to see the canine officers patrolling the terminals at LAX with their dogs sniffing at bags and other items. The canine teams respond to all unattended article calls and they also assist other agencies as needed. The LAX Crime Scene Investigations
Unit functions in a manner similar to most other conventional law enforcement agencies. Those officers collect evidence for investigations and maintain other
evidentiary
material in the form of fingerprints, photographs, and video footage. The Detective Program assigns Airport Police Detectives to investigate airport-related crimes and to liaise with those federal agencies which also have jurisdiction at LAX. One of the most popular units within the LAX police department is the Dignitary Protection Unit. This unit works closely with the security teams of Heads of States and major political
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June 2012 Aviationsecurityinternational
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